A trip down memory lane this morning, watching President Obama, in a tuxedo, at the James Baker Institute at Rice University, speak in his halting, considered, wry way.
One of the things he said was that going into the Oval Office to meet with George W. Bush, after the election but before he was sworn in, was his first visit to the Oval Office. And he said, "You know, that place deserves a sort of reverence. Not for the place, but for what it represents and if you don't have it, well, you shouldn't be there."
Which, of course made me and everyone in the audience think of its current occupant.
But then, I thought: Isn't this what change and a disrupter and the rejection of previously accepted norms are all about?
And maybe the new norm is no worse, just different.
Consider, as an example, the idea of a "scholar athlete."
We all knew, for years, what a sham that was. Boys were admitted to Duke to play basketball, to Harvard to play football who had test scores and grades not remotely close to what was required of other students. And for most student/athletes, they weren't even interested in the student part. They attended classes only because it was part of their contract.
These players are more like the custodians Duke hires. They are employees of the university, but not students.
The most famous example was the Penn State running back, who, when the professor called on him, simply stared back at the professor, who persisted, "Uh, Mr. Moore, I asked you a question," the professor said.
"My name is Lenny Moore" he said, "I don't answer no questions. I just carry the ball."
That, at least, was an honest answer.
For years, Duke University, tried to pretend their basketball players were like the Ivy League players, young men admitted to play football or basketball, but who studied, and got their college degrees after four years on campus. Until about 10 years ago, that was occasionally true, with Duke players recruited, playing for 4 years before signing their NBA contracts. But now Duke recruits "one and done" players, who play their year, get their exposure, get drafted into the NBA and are gone. LeBron James changed the dynamic, showing a player with no college training could play in the pros.
After LeBron, all that is gone. There is no attempt to even pretend the hired guns, these 17 and 18 year old players will even go to class, much less spend more than a year before cashing in and going off to the NBA. Now the young studs skip college mostly, doing their year of audition then on to where they really intend to go.
As a commentator from UNC recently observed:
First, let's be clear: the idea of a Duke “Scholar Athlete”, at least when involving their basketball program, is a fiction. Recruiting one and done players raises a lot of issues, including whether keeping someone academically eligible for one semester indicates any real commitment to balancing academics with the need to maintain a competitive basketball program. Duke University, by allowing Coach K to recruit academically deficient “One and Done” high school players, sends a very clear signal that education of athletes is not a priority. They are there for one reason – to win games for the basketball program, which for Duke is a cash cow, bringing in millions. It had better, because they've certainly got enough invested in it - in 2013 Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski received a pay raise to to $7.2 million, making him the highest-paid coach in all of college sports.
--UNC sports columnist
Duke is, in a way, refreshingly honest, like that football player.
Sure, we used to talk about the value of a college education, about how these players represent something that is good about Duke, how they are part of the fabric of quality which is part of the university.
Now, it's, no, they are just hired help, entertaining the fans. We bid. Our competition bids and we buy the best we can get. Bread and circus. This is the circus.
In a way, this is all good. The whole lie that college was somehow materially valuable to students, whether they are elite athletes or, for that matter, for most of the students who will leave college for careers running HVAC businesses, landscaping companies, selling insurance or stocks is just that, a lie. College may expand minds, for those who do not spend it all on fraternity porches drinking themselves into oblivion, but expanded minds do not translate into dollars. The fact is, for most people, all that is valuable to them is the certification process, which has devolved into a starkly commercial enterprise in the United States. Pay your money, take your exam, get your certificate, and you can move on.
The idea of "qualifications" whether it be for running a business or running for government office is a sham. You prove you are qualified by winning.
Rules are made for breaking. Doing is the only important thing.
Think of Trump, who when it was suggested in a debate he had not paid income taxes replied, "Yeah. If I had, they'd have just wasted the money."
And his base lapped it up.
But there was some comfort in our illusions, sometimes. And even if we knew they were fantasies, they were warm dreams, or, as Hemingway said, "It's not true. But it was pretty to think it."
One of the things he said was that going into the Oval Office to meet with George W. Bush, after the election but before he was sworn in, was his first visit to the Oval Office. And he said, "You know, that place deserves a sort of reverence. Not for the place, but for what it represents and if you don't have it, well, you shouldn't be there."
 |
| Revered |
Which, of course made me and everyone in the audience think of its current occupant.
But then, I thought: Isn't this what change and a disrupter and the rejection of previously accepted norms are all about?
And maybe the new norm is no worse, just different.
Consider, as an example, the idea of a "scholar athlete."
We all knew, for years, what a sham that was. Boys were admitted to Duke to play basketball, to Harvard to play football who had test scores and grades not remotely close to what was required of other students. And for most student/athletes, they weren't even interested in the student part. They attended classes only because it was part of their contract.
These players are more like the custodians Duke hires. They are employees of the university, but not students.
 |
| The Reality of Slavery |
The most famous example was the Penn State running back, who, when the professor called on him, simply stared back at the professor, who persisted, "Uh, Mr. Moore, I asked you a question," the professor said.
"My name is Lenny Moore" he said, "I don't answer no questions. I just carry the ball."
That, at least, was an honest answer.
For years, Duke University, tried to pretend their basketball players were like the Ivy League players, young men admitted to play football or basketball, but who studied, and got their college degrees after four years on campus. Until about 10 years ago, that was occasionally true, with Duke players recruited, playing for 4 years before signing their NBA contracts. But now Duke recruits "one and done" players, who play their year, get their exposure, get drafted into the NBA and are gone. LeBron James changed the dynamic, showing a player with no college training could play in the pros.
 |
| Fantasy Hero of the Lost Cause |
After LeBron, all that is gone. There is no attempt to even pretend the hired guns, these 17 and 18 year old players will even go to class, much less spend more than a year before cashing in and going off to the NBA. Now the young studs skip college mostly, doing their year of audition then on to where they really intend to go.
As a commentator from UNC recently observed:
First, let's be clear: the idea of a Duke “Scholar Athlete”, at least when involving their basketball program, is a fiction. Recruiting one and done players raises a lot of issues, including whether keeping someone academically eligible for one semester indicates any real commitment to balancing academics with the need to maintain a competitive basketball program. Duke University, by allowing Coach K to recruit academically deficient “One and Done” high school players, sends a very clear signal that education of athletes is not a priority. They are there for one reason – to win games for the basketball program, which for Duke is a cash cow, bringing in millions. It had better, because they've certainly got enough invested in it - in 2013 Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski received a pay raise to to $7.2 million, making him the highest-paid coach in all of college sports.
--UNC sports columnist
Duke is, in a way, refreshingly honest, like that football player.
Sure, we used to talk about the value of a college education, about how these players represent something that is good about Duke, how they are part of the fabric of quality which is part of the university.
Now, it's, no, they are just hired help, entertaining the fans. We bid. Our competition bids and we buy the best we can get. Bread and circus. This is the circus.
In a way, this is all good. The whole lie that college was somehow materially valuable to students, whether they are elite athletes or, for that matter, for most of the students who will leave college for careers running HVAC businesses, landscaping companies, selling insurance or stocks is just that, a lie. College may expand minds, for those who do not spend it all on fraternity porches drinking themselves into oblivion, but expanded minds do not translate into dollars. The fact is, for most people, all that is valuable to them is the certification process, which has devolved into a starkly commercial enterprise in the United States. Pay your money, take your exam, get your certificate, and you can move on.
The idea of "qualifications" whether it be for running a business or running for government office is a sham. You prove you are qualified by winning.
Rules are made for breaking. Doing is the only important thing.
Think of Trump, who when it was suggested in a debate he had not paid income taxes replied, "Yeah. If I had, they'd have just wasted the money."
 |
| The Reality: War is Hell |
And his base lapped it up.
But there was some comfort in our illusions, sometimes. And even if we knew they were fantasies, they were warm dreams, or, as Hemingway said, "It's not true. But it was pretty to think it."
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